It definitely doesn't feature a burning flag or Osama bin Laden like the New Yorker's well-known satirical cover, but the Onion has some fun with the press and Obama, well mostly the press, in this week's edition.

The publication came up with a fictitious article about what the fluffiest of the fluff pieces about the Illinois senator would sound like and what questions the most pro-Obama journalist would ask (For example, "What's your favorite ice cream, really?")

The Onion writes:

Hailed by media critics as the fluffiest, most toothless, and softest-hitting coverage of the presidential candidate to date, a story in this week's Time magazine is being called the definitive Barack Obama puff piece.

One twelfth of the light, glossy, groundbreaking surface-level feature.

"No news publication has dared to barely scratch the surface like this before," columnist and campaign reporter Michael King wrote in The Washington Post Tuesday. "This profile sets a benchmark for mindless filler by which all other features about Sen. Obama will now be judged. Just impressive puff-journalism all around."

In truth, the press has given Obama more coverage consistently since the race narrowed between him and Republican Sen. John McCain, according to the latest numbers from the Project for Excellence in Journalism. For five straight weeks, Obama was the major newsmaker in the majority of election-related articles.

Comments

"In truth, the press has given Obama more coverage consistently since the race narrowed between him and Republican Sen. John McCain, according to the latest numbers from the Project for Excellence in Journalism."
But what kind of "coverage"? Very little of it has been incisive, like the New Yorker's recent piece, or the the Boston Globe's recent in-depth expose on Obama's public housing legacy.
There has been too much of the worshipful fawning that is typified by The Swamp. That's unhealthy in a democracy.

20 days of solid Rev. Wright discussions is somehow floating Obama? Ongoing discussions of flag pins and patriotism are floating Obama? Constantly just mimicking the McCain talking points on flip flops when the Obama quotes say the opposite, while McCain flips all over the place and is just called a Maverick? Please people.

I know, Joe, it's hard to accept. But only hard-core Obamaphiles would believe that the media has actually been tough on your candidate of choice. This was a well-done piece of satire. "...which aspects of his jump shot are just good and which ones are great." Laugh out loud funny stuff, guys. As long as the fawning over the junior senator from Illinois continues, this kind of satire needs to continue to be aimed at those claiming to be real journalists.

Obama is from Chicago. The Tribune is a Chicago paper that also has endorsed the republican, including Bush twice, back to the beginning of time. It is also owned by a Republican, as most of the media in the country is, print and electronic.

As Joe mentioned above, dozens of stories of the Rev. Wright may be ABOUT the Democrat, but that doesn't mean they are POSITIVE publicity. In the typical Rove manner you totally misrepresent the situation to imply its all good Obama publicity, all the time, and all bad McCain coverage, all the time. Did you misrepresent the North to all those kids at BF Community College too?

Now lets talk about Hate Radio. How much positive coverage is Obama getting over there? End of story, Whinerdice.

Actually, DT, you're full of it on that one as usual. The Swamp has been the overarching political blog for the Tribune Company's ENTIRE chain (including papers in Hartford, Baltimore, LA and central Pennsylvania) for a long time now. In the typical Carville manner you bray and whine like the child you are about how "fair" your shameful attack on another poster really is. The writer of this very post, Katie Fretland, worked for another Tribune paper, the Orlando Sentinel, before being assigned to the Washington bureau. The Bureau is not the property of any single Tribune paper but rather provides stories to ALL papers in the chain.
If you're going to be arrogant and whiny, at least try to be right once in awhile, too, could ya? I realize that having the facts and being right is really hard for someone like you, but just give it a try whinerdice, okay?

The C-Tribune can't be helping him to much at home. Pollster.com has his numbers consistantly dropping downward. I'm not sure these numbers have made it to any media outlet, but I would love to inteview the MEDIA for their explanation for this down turn. Something sure hit the fan there.

I don't call the coverage of Rev Wright in the least bit efficient. Repeating some statements over and over, even having Rev Wright come to the public with his rants, STILL did not inform the American people of the religion taught there. We just thought the man was a NUT. No one pinned OB down on the fact he denied knowing anything about Wrights view on BLT or some hard hitting question to OB about BLT.

Coverage is clearly one sided, the media may know McCain already, but they've failed to share him with us, in the same way they have with Obama. Their excuse for the one sidedness is that Obama is more interesting. That is another word for serious BIAS.

Rev. Wright. Tony Rezko. Harvard history. His wife's credentials. The flag pin flap. His "cling to their guns" comment. "Throwing his grandmother under the bus". His early school days in a hasassah (sp?). His middle name, for crying out loud.

No, that's not everything on Obama, but that and more about him has been dissected over and over. What is it that you DON'T know about his that you feel you should?

As for McCain, I've only read ONE article that tried to dissect his relationship with real estate crook Charles Keating, a relationship that ultimatly cost the American public BILLIONS of dollars.

Obama has gotton the most, and the most favorable coverage since the beginning of the primaries.

And race has everything to do with it. Try to imagine any other candidates with a whopping 143 DAYS of experience in the U.S. Senate deluding himself into believing he has the experience to govern this nation!

McCain is old, but he has 26 years of experience and a proven track record. I'll take old and experienced over young and stupid any day.

Dude, releasing his medical records would be a start. While reporters had access to John McCain's all the Obamessiah is a one-page letter from his family doctor. When he keeps saying crazy things like "Israel supports Israel" and that he's visited 57 states it makes me think he might be "losing his bearings."

Obama will get elected because everytime you pick up the paper his name appears 10 times for every one time McCain's shows up. Most people just see the name, not the content. Doesn't matter, a year into his presidency, he'll have voted "present" 100 times and start his campaign for UN Secretary... I hope.

Dude, releasing his medical records would be a start. While reporters had access to John McCain's all the Obamessiah is a one-page letter from his family doctor. When he keeps saying crazy things like "Israel supports Israel" and that he's visited 57 states it makes me think he might be "losing his bearings."
Posted by: Jeff | July 22, 2008 4:29 PM

Yes please give us more news on McCain like his records from Vietnam that are sealed because of the videos he made for the NVA Please bring the war heros records out front It cannot be hidden because of national security as it has been too long

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